My son who has sz among other issues, ruins every single holiday. Christmas this year was a time of walking on egg shells. He started hearing voices again. Very angry, full psychosis. I was so glad the holidays were over, hoping he would get back to his normal. The neighbor called the police on him. Not sure which neighbor. So now I don’t even want to look at the neighbors anymore. Apparently, he was ranting about shooting somebody. We don’t have any guns in the house btw. He told the cops he was yelling about the game call of duty. I don’t think he is taking his meds the way he should. We are still trying to get him on disability. It has been almost 3 years!!! And I don’t understand that when the police show, its like the psychosis goes away for a little while. This disease is exhausting! So many ups and downs and they are always worse for any kind of holiday. Just venting here. Thanks
@Tippy I think the holidays are stressful for most adults. Small children think they’re great. Stress is a known factor for triggering psychoses. I wonder if his psychiatrist would be open to prescribing an anti-anxiety drug that would just last for the holidays. It’s kind of sad that it’s come to that, but the barrage of Christmas music, advertising, socializing, pressure to give gifts – it gets to me too!
When I belonged to a NAMI support group, the room would be overflowing during the holidays. Most meetings had between 10-15, during the holidays we would easily have 50. Everyone wouldn’t get a chance to talk in that limited time, many said that just being in a room full of people dealing with the same issues was a gift.
I understand @Tippy , my daughter would get more normal and demonstrate less psychosis even mid an episode when the police showed up. Honestly, I was happy when the neighbors also started calling the police when my house got loud with shouting. Then the police believed me more when I called, as they would often come and could do nothing as she seemed “fine”. Only forcing her onto a monthly injection saved her and the family from episodes. She hasn’t had one in years now. I hope things get better for you.
Thanks for sharing so I don’t feel so alone in this. I wish there were permanent housing for people with this disease. I can barely remember a day that I liked going home.
Tippy, please get your son off orals and on long-term injections for his schizophrenia, like the invega ones. That has helped tremendously but wait until he gets on disability and can get Medicare and Medicaid because the shot will be covered, otherwise it’s cost-prohibitive. My son has had schizophrenia for 13 years and holidays are still not smooth. I have neighbors that mean well, and I’m grateful for them looking out for me, but yes, the police get called lots. Venting is really important because it releases the steam buildup. Crying is helpful too. Know that you are not alone.
In California we now have CARE COURT. It is relatively new and even the judges are learning about it. If you live in Ca. you may want to look into it. It may help with Mandatory meds. Yes, we stopped putting up Xmas decorations, due to the stress it caused. His SZ had a religious bias. Take care. You are not alone.
For some reason, his Dr only wants to do oral meds. I sure wish we could get him on disability. My husband is out of town for work for a couple of days and I absolutely hate being at home alone with my son. He can be so scary.
Tippy,
I know, it can be very scary. I leave and go to my daughter’s, a few blocks away, when I sense or witness behaviors that could escalate and cause me harm. Almost always have a bag and my meds packed for quick getaway. Then I take someone back with me to check on him and evaluate his mood before I go back home. It has benefits for both of us.
Seriously, it takes a long time to find another psychiatrist and get an appt., but do some research and make some calls to find out what practices near you will order the long term Invega (Maintaina, Sustaina, and Trinza ) shots. They start with one that doesn’t last as long to see how he tolerates it, then gradually increase dosage and the length of time between shots. I found a practice who prescribes them and then also had to find a pharmacy that would have a pharmacist licensed to administer the shot. It’s doable and has saved me the hassle of getting him to take oral meds daily. There are certain behaviors that mess with the effectiveness of the shots: illegal drugs, marijuana, alcohol, energy drinks, and too much caffeine. So monitoring those can prevent aggressive behavior and keep the effectiveness of the shot.
Well then those meds are not an option for my son. He drinks a lot of energy drinks, and have caught him drinking alcohol. Can’t sit on him all day, have to go to work, so he continues with these bad behaviors. I am just plain tired. My son and his dad went at it last night again. My husband just can’t resist “poking the bear” when our son is not acting right which escalates to a lot yelling and wall punching and just ugly stuff. This is a miserable way to live.
Tippy,
I agree, it’s not the life we ever wanted. And I hope for all of us it gets better. As for the Energy drinks, I buy them, I hide them, and I dole out one per day by putting it in the refrigerator the night before. These really mess with the minds of even the most mentally and physically healthy people.
Your husband doesn’t get it. Poking the bear is the last thing that would bring peace or healing. Your son needs grace, encouragement, and the assurance of love even when he doesn’t deserve it. Very hard for us to do when the behaviors seem evil. But from my experience, praying for help to display these to our affected ones, really makes a difference. What you are going through is as much a spiritual battle as a physical one. The devil wants to discourage us to the point we throw in the towel.
Well, we had another episode! My husband again “poked the bear”. This time the police came. They were supposed to know how to deal with mental illness, but they arrested him anyway. He has not been taking his meds and we found out he has been drinking A LOT. He was sent from the jail to a facility for the Baker Act. He has been there for 2 days and they have him back on his meds which is great. Now we will have to go to court and he will have to undergo random drug testing (which I am fine with). If anyone has any knowledge of this situation, should we hire an attorney or go with the public defender? He does have a diagnosis of SZ from his phychiatrist. I just don’t think jail is the answer and want to get these charges dropped. My husband was the one that was the “victim” and he isn’t going to press charges. Please help anyone?
Whether you hire an attorney or go with a public defender, (do not pay for an attorney if this is a hardship for your family) have your son’s case transferred to the mental health court.
They have mental health court? I have never heard of that. How do we do that? Is it through the district attorney’s office?
Oh Tippy, I am sorry for the arrest, I am sure it is causing you much emotional stress. I went through the same thing with my daughter (arrests and hospitalization). That path led to her eventually having a choice of staying in jail until her trial date, or getting out of jail till her court date IF she stayed on her medicine. She chose the medicine and so was released from jail to a hospital where she was put back on medicine, this time a monthy injection, which stabilized her long term.
Hiring a private lawyer is expensive. My daughter had a public defender and it went just fine.
Good luck! Don’t be afraid to communicate to the hospital, the court, the public defender, and even to go to court as a witness. I don’t think Florida has mental health court, but the judges are VERY familiar with inmates with mental health issues.
If there is a mental health court, you might have to make several phone calls to find out, the lawyer can request the transfer.
Thank you everyone for your replies. All charges were dropped against my son! Thankfully, cuz’ jail isn’t the place for him. I am still hoping that I can find that magical place where he can have supervised living. He was horrible last night. So much ranting and raving and yelling. Another night that no one got any sleep. I don’t know if the meds aren’t working anymore or he has found another way to abuse some substance along with his pills. My husband blames me cuz’ I buy him energy drinks. I know my son is very lonely and he is bored, but we can’t stay home and entertain him all day. Hoping for a solution so we can all sleep better at night.
He needs to be doing something with his time. Maybe he would benefit from seeing a psychologist who specializes in Motivational Interviewing. It’s a psychological approach that focuses on what the client’s goals and ambitions are. Once these are uncovered, then they work backwards together as a team to figure out what the client could do that would support their goals.
I think that MI is a positive psychology approach. I.e. time is not spent working on negative things the client wants to overcome, but on what positive things they can do moving forward.
The big book in the field is Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change and Grow.
Hi just a reminder schizophrenia with order they always get the hint here…so there you are peter scott …you hate the holidays huh? I get a little blues on holiday season too
I am glad @Tippy that your son is out of jail, but sorry his is keeping you awake at night. It remember those nights in my own household. We built a divider between my daughter’s section of the house and our section so we could close her area off at night and lessen the volume of her rants.